


A Mid-Winter Gift

by MeBeShe



Category: Critical Role
Genre: -maui voice- youre welcome, Festivals, First Kisses, Fluff, Gift Giving, M/M, fluff incoming folks, idk - Freeform, kinda sorta christmasty thing, this is a far cry from my normal vampire bdsm filth, this is so fucking sweet, y'all are need to go the fucking dentist after reading this shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-27 03:02:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13871706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeBeShe/pseuds/MeBeShe
Summary: It was Mid-Winter, and the bonfires were roaring and Nott was counting her rocks and Molly was reading for Jester and Beau was helping Yasha count her gold and the air was full of the smell of fried food and sugar and the wine was warm in his belly and the air was heavy with snow and Caleb was curled into his side like he belonged there. Fjord placed a soft kiss on the red hair on his shoulder and wrapped an arm around Caleb’s shoulders, tucking him into the cloak. They were warm and Fjord was content.





	A Mid-Winter Gift

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Percilout](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Percilout/gifts).



> Happy Birthday my dear friend. Have some tooth-rotting fluff.

Fjord pulled the hood of his cloak tighter around his neck as he wove through the crowd with Caleb’s present tucked safely under his elbow. It was cold enough for Fjord to see his breath, and he had the feeling that snow would start falling soon. The Mighty Nein had been travelling since Fjord had been rejected from the Academy and they had come upon Zadash once again just in time for the Mid-Winter festivities. They had come back to the Pentamarket and decided to enjoy the festival while they could. 

Molly was entertaining a large group of people by juggling swords and doing fortune readings while Nott pick-pocketed them as they were distracted. Beau and Yasha were both in the arm wrestling contest, and Jester was cheering them on. Caleb had found a little table near a bonfire and staked it as their own. Fjord slid onto the bench next to Caleb, passing him a cup of mulled wine. 

“Here. ‘s damn cold out here.” He took a sip of his own as Caleb wrapped his hands around the wooden cup. 

“Thank you.” He took a sip and made an appreciative noise. “Oh this is good.” Caleb took another sip. Frumpkin stuck his head out of Caleb’s coat and the wizard gave the kitty a gentle scritch on the cheek.

“Also, I got you somethin’.” Fjord said. “A Mid-Winter present.” He passed the distinctive package to Caleb. It was obviously a book. Caleb had seen it earlier and he’d been so taken with it he had been running his hands down the leather spine like he would a lover. He hadn’t had enough gold, though, so he had to pass it by with a sigh of longing. So Fjord had gone back to the seller, had cast 'Friends' and gotten the tome for a song. Caleb put down the wine and gently pulled the string off and opened it. His eyes went wide and his mouth fell open as he read the title and recognized it as the book from before. 

“Fjord-how-why-I mean- thank you but Fjord…” Caleb blanched as he hissed out the last few words. “This was a lot of gold.” He stressed the last three words. 

__“I…may have used a bit of magic to get a discount.” Fjord admitted with a sly grin. Caleb had been teaching him how to use the spell and every time so far Fjord had failed._ _

__“It worked?” Caleb asked, beaming up at Fjord. The half-orc just nodded._ _

__“Oh I am so proud of you, big guy!” Caleb gushed. “You’ve been working so hard on it!” Caleb ran his finger tips over the gold leaf on the cover and gently placed the book back in the paper._ _

__“I have something for you as well, in the spirit of Mid-Winter.” Caleb reached into his coat and passed Fjord a small, lumpy package. Fjord unwrapped it and inside was a coiled scarf. He ran his hands over it, the soft stitches catching on his callouses. It was a deep cobalt blue, the color similar to Beau’s robes, and the yarn was so soft Fjord could barely feel it._ _

__“Caleb, this is wonderful.” He said truthfully, glancing down at the human. He pulled it out and started to wrap the scarf around his neck._ _

__“Here.” Caleb shifted on the bench, straddling it. “It’s bad luck to put it on yourself the first time.” Caleb’s cold hands brushed Fjord’s and the human wound the scarf around his neck. It was thick and warm and soft and he buried his chin into it, enjoying the feelings of the yarn against his skin. Fjord ran his hands over the scarf and found a series of runes stitched into the fabric at the ends._ _

__“It will you keep safe.” Caleb said gently. “If we ever get separated, it will lead me to you, or you to me.” His hand rested against Fjord’s arm and he gave the muscle a squeeze._ _

__There had been something between them for a while, now. Fjord didn’t quite know what it was, or it even had a name. All he knew is that he was drawn to Caleb, as if the wizard was some kind of lodestone and Fjord was made of steel. Sometimes it was loose and languid, coiling between them with ease. Other times, like now, it was so taught that Fjord thought that if he waved his hand between them he’d pluck it like a bowstring._ _

__Fjord opened his mouth to speak when a thick, white flake landed on Caleb’s cheekbone. More started to fall and they both looked up into the sky._ _

__It was snowing._ _

__It was Mid-Winter night and there were bonfires roaring and people were cheering Yasha on and Molly’s crowd was applauding a trick and the air was thick with smell of roasting meat and burning sugar and mulling wine and ice and it was snowing. It was Mid-Winter night and Caleb was next to him. Fjord reached up and brushed some of the snow from Caleb’s cheekbone. He then leaned forward the smallest bit and kissed the human softly._ _

__“Thank you, Caleb.” He said gently. Cold fingers cupped his cheek as Caleb kissed him back._ _

__“Caleb, Caleb look!” Nott came running up to him, her hands filled with people’s purses, Molly in tow._ _

__“You two finally kissed?” Molly asked, straddling his bench as he swiped Fjord’s wine. “Finally, I was getting tired of waiting.” He took a sip._ _

__“Why yes, Molly, you can have a sip of my drink, thank you for askin’.” Fjord grumbled, making Caleb laugh._ _

__“Here. Let Molly keep it.” Caleb slid his wine over as he sat back on the bench properly._ _

__Yasha joined them, her hands spilling over with her winnings as Jester babbled about how Yasha snatched her victory from the jaws of defeat in a very dramatic fashion as Beau looked at Yasha with light in her eyes that let Fjord knew neither would be sleeping alone tonight. Frumpkin jumped from Caleb’s lap into Nott’s and curled into the goblin’s side. Caleb picked up his book and tucked it away, and then leaned into Fjord’s side and placed a gentle hand on his thigh._ _

__It was Mid-Winter, and the bonfires were roaring and Nott was counting her rocks and Molly was reading for Jester and Beau was helping Yasha count her gold and the air was full of the smell of fried food and sugar and the wine was warm in his belly and the air was heavy with snow and Caleb was curled into his side like he belonged there. Fjord placed a soft kiss on the red hair on his shoulder and wrapped an arm around Caleb’s shoulders, tucking him into the cloak. They were warm and Fjord was content._ _

**Author's Note:**

> So I know that Matt said that Winter's Crest doesn't exist in Widlemount, but my studies as a history major have shown me that every culture, across the globe, has a mid-winter party. Mid-winter is a cold, bleak, dreary, dark time, and we need booze and bonfires and laughter to remind ourselves that sun will shine, and that spring is on it's way. I couldn't resist throwing the gang into a festival like that. I took major liberties here, but fuck it.


End file.
